The Fall of Rupert Murdoch?: The UK Phone Hacking Scandal

Ok, so the title is perhaps overstating the situation, but it reflects what is currently a major news item.

For those uninformed, Murdoch's long owned (though even longer-lived) UK tabloid "News of the World" has come under scrutiny for phone hacking of private citizens.

This is not the first time News of the World has come under fire for phone hacking. However, previously they had been attributed to hacking the phone lines of celebrities and high-level figures. People like the Beckhams and Prince Harry. Those stories are something like 5-6 years old, and probably because of the wealth of the people involved and the 'non-serious' nature of what were essentially entertainment stories, the whole thing more or less went away... perhaps because it was never proven, I'm not sure.

NOW, however, the allegations concern hacking the phones of private citizens. In this case, the phone of a young female murder victim. There are more than a few allegations that the staff of "New of the World" may have interfered, whether on purpose or by accident, with a police investigation. What's more, there have been charges of bribery against top-level police officials, and a slew of resignations both in said police department, and within the Murdoch Empire. Murdoch has subsequently dropped his bid to purchase Sky News in Britain as his profits in that country have gone into freefall, and "News of the World", a 168-year old newspaper, has shut its doors for good. There have been calls in the United States for investigations into Murdoch's newsroom business practices as his entire organization's ethical practices come under scrutiny.

As I'm sure many in the Senate will remind us, Murdoch's holdings in the United States include the formerly liberal (circa 1975) New York Post newspaper, the Wall Street Journal and the Fox Television Network.

At this point I open the floor up to any who would comment on these recent developments.

There was a story on the 13th - some of the Bancroft family expressing regret about selling the WSJ to Murdoch.

And the [link=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2011/jul/18/wall-street-journal-hacking-editorial]Guardian's commentary[/link] on the WSJ's [link=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303661904576451812776293184.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop]nonsensical editorial defense[/link] of Murdoch is worthy of the Daily Show.